Stuck For Gifts? You Can Get Some Seriously Lovely Irish Art For A Tenner In Dublin Tonight

Including this beautiful print by Fuchsia MacAree.

If you’d rather run a mile than purchase yet another Boots gift set for someone on your Christmas list, we have good news. Festive shopping fatigue is real y’all, but the folks at Guts Magazine have your back.

The seven-part Irish mag is having a massive knees-up tomorrow night, Thursday December 15th, to celebrate the launch of its final issue, and they’ll be selling heaps of lovely things on the night. As well as Christmas packs of all issues of Guts for €36, you’ll also be able to take your pick from any of the 68 pieces of art that have featured in the mag, with prices starting at a tenner a pop.

Considering the pages and covers of Guts have been graced with art from the likes of Fuchsia MacAree, Fatti Burke and Mick Minogue, you’ll be getting yourself a pretty sweet deal, and just in time for Christmas too.

Tomorrow night marks the culmination of two years of work for writer Roisin Agnew, who launched a Kickstarter project for Guts back in 2014 with the aim of raising €3,000 to cover costs. In the end, she raised over €5,000, which has gone on to fuel the magazine for six issues, plus one special Young Blood edition funded by the Bram Stoker Festival.

“Guts was a project I’d wanted to do for a very long time, but I had just quit my job and was on the Dole at the time, so in terms of investment I didn’t have much money to put forward for it. We figured we’d at least get the ball rolling and get some attention with Kickstarter. I didn’t feel comfortable asking for a lot of money so we kept the target low, but we ended up raising much more than that.”

With each issue focusing on a different theme, from love (The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Issue 1) to Shame (Issue 6), Roisín says she’s tried to give writers and artists the space to create something they are proud of and that feels organic to them, rather than commissioning pieces randomly.

“Everyone who worked on Guts did it for the love of it,” she says. “The writers and artists featured in the mag are all generally at the top of their game already, so I’d never try to claim that they ‘need the coverage’. It’s about being a part of something shared, something beautifully designed and something that’s really a labour of love.”

Head along to The Chocolate Factory on Kings Inn Street on December 15th from 6pm to celebrate the final issue, pick up a print and enjoy some free booze from Jameson. No ticket needed, but the Guts crew kindly asked that you give a €5/€10 donation on the door. More info here.